We hope you and your families are healthy and safe during these continued trying times.
The phrase, "Our Clients ' Success is Our Success" is the first thing our team sees each day when they walk into our headquarters (see photo). While always understood to be important, we feel it is critical that every staff member realizes that the hours we spend refining our software,  improving the functionality and streamlining processes goes towards one goal: making sure our clients are successful because of our software.
We know that behind every client company are hard-working people supporting their own shippers. Each time we improve the system, we are doing that not for the hundreds of locations using FACTS, but for thousands of end users.
This issue features several examples of how our mutual success intertwines. First, please read the article about C&M Forwarding and how FACTS has helped them grow. Second, there is a new release of FACTS available. Version 11.4 provides even more tools for you to better serve your clients. Finally, we partner with vendors like DDC FPO to ensure our clients work with only the best in breed. Indeed, our success only matters when you are successful.
Enjoy the newsletter, stay well, and as always, thank you.
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Short Hauls
 Increase Revenue - Decrease Costs
LOC-AI Relaunched - Available Now for Carriers
CLI is pleased to reintroduce LOC-AI, the module that simultaneously increases your revenue and decrease your costs. LOC-AI uses Artificial Intelligence to automatically look up the addresses on each shipment and integrate that address information into the shipment data. Now, more than ever, carriers are being asked to pick up or deliver to non-standard business locations. LOC-AI gives you the tools to plan efficiently and invoice correctly. Don't leave assessorial charges on the table, get LOC-AI now.
Click for more information.
Welcome New Client
CLI is pleased to announce that Ross Express has recently joined the list of CLI FACTS users.
Ross Express, a New Hampshire-based TL/LTL regional provider, has been providing top-notch service to its clients for over 74 years. Ross management cited the ability to automate business processes with FACTS as a strong selling point when they were considering their software options. Click for more on Ross Express.
CLI Client in the News
 A shout out to CLI client C&M Forwarding who was featured in the January 2021 Fleet Owner magazine. CLI was pleased to read Mike Erne's comment that "Overall, with an advanced freight management system, we are saving
administrative time, and that means we can manage our growth without adding
people for just that purpose." We are proud that FACTS supplies the C&M team with the tools and technology they need to manage growth.
To access the article, click here.
Enjoy Retirement Yi!
Yi Luo, whose role for the past 23 years at CLI has been to support the accounting and administrative modules, announced his retirement at the end of 2020. Originally from Beijing, China, Yi emigrated to the United States in 1987. He became an American citizen in 1999.
Yi will enjoy his retirement with his wife Shuxia and be able to devote more time to his favorite activity of swimming.
Thank you Yi for your many years of dedicated service. Enjoy your well-earned retirement.
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FACTS 11.4 Version Released CLI Upgrades FACTS Technology with Cybersecurity and AI Solutions
FACTS™ 11.4, is now available and features several innovative solutions which will benefit clients and their ability to serve customers.
"There are across the board enhancements to FACTS encompassing all modules, and they all tell the same story," said Ben Wiesen, president of CLI. "We continue to advance the solution we provide to LTL trucking companies while focusing on providing the most secure platform. LTL carriers will be more profitable due to advanced dock management and Robotic Processing Automation (RPA). At the same time, we provide "cybersecurity" in terms of a hardened platform coupled with a return to operability guarantee, should there be any issues. These capabilities, and others to follow, put us ahead of our competitors, and will help propel our transportation clients to new levels of success."
"We are employing those tools in our technology stack as native application features rather than requiring our clients to find third party bolt-ons," continued Wiesen. "In FACTS 11.4 there's an infrastructure for robust AI functionality with an emphasis on RPA to relieve transportation providers of the economic burden of high touch, low value transactional processing."
Another use of AI at CLI is in its LOC-AI (Location Management Artificial Intelligence) application that was rolled out in 2020, initially to respond to changing needs for information about shipping and receiving locations during the pandemic. The LOC-AI tool, which is integrated into the FACTS shipment entry and rating modules, uses AI to provide automation around how to plan, manage and dispatch equipment and drivers for different customer locations by providing detailed information on a pick-up or delivery address, and by applying business rules regarding how to best service those shippers.
Managing the cross dock operation, improving freight visibility and control, and increasing worker productivity and loading accuracy, is furthered by an upgraded version of the FACTS Dock Management System (DMS). The DMS in FACTS 11.4 is also coupled with the company's new visual Dock Management Board, which provides an intuitive display showing the status of all dock assignments. The DMS module continues to support dynamic freight routing and photo capture, and is integrated with pallet dimensioning solutions for simplifying deployment to enable more intuitive workflow processes.
The security and integrity of customer data is CLI's highest priority. To that end, the FACTS 11.4 platform follows the strictest ISO/IEC 27001 security standards. These standards provide for a comprehensive and aggressive defense-in-depth approach to information security.
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Training Videos Now Online
Portal Available for all CLI Clients  CLI has recently developed a training portal that features a multitude of training videos to help clients navigate, and get the most from, the FACTS system. The video library, which currently focuses on two areas, Getting Started and Administration and Accounting, will continue to be expanded to eventually cover all aspects of the system. Whether you are new to FACTS or just need a refresher, the training videos are just the ticket. Click here to find out more.
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How to Convert Freight Bill Data into Business Intelligence
The following is an excerpt - to read the compete article click here.
Data collected along the shipment journey can give transportation providers expeditious insight and awareness to improve their business performance. In this article, DDC FPO's Chad Crotty shares how information gathered from freight bills in particular can provide visibility into your operations that will serve as true business intelligence and empower your teams to conduct better decision-making.
Put Data in the Driver's Seat
Logistics is about collecting information - information on where deliveries are, where they must go next, and what is the most cost-effective way to get them to the goal destination. Data collection, analysis, and then application in the most intelligent and effective manner helps companies predict and prepare for where they are headed. 
This is critical when making decisions for all aspects of the operation, including retaining a profitable customer base. What does the data tell you about where you land when it comes to meeting customers' expectations?
Five questions transportation providers should ask themselves:
- Are our turnaround times on par?
- Do our customers have full visibility into where their deliveries are at all times?
- Are we meeting shipper requirements of delivery?
- How often do we audit our freight bills?
- How quickly do we rectify billing discrepancies?
Identifying pain points and working towards solutions based on tangible data found along the delivery route helps build customer trust while concurrently pursuing better business health. This is where the bill of lading (BOL) comes into play. First and foremost, valued for being the contract of carriage, the BOL includes a variety of fields that, if analyzed and audited properly, can help you strengthen a strategic approach to deliveries, customer reliability, and cost containment.
Here are a few BOL fields that you can convert into business intelligence:
- The freight classification and number of units to be shipped - Can you add a discount for preferred customers with a certain class of freight, or a number of shipments over a certain threshold? Is there an identifiable theme in class that you transport that can be leveraged for marketing purposes?
- The precise weight of the shipment (multiple freight units call for each item's weight to be listed) - When tracking weights of your shipments, you may identify recurring discrepancies between order placement and pick-up. Should you invest in a tool to prevent this moving forward? Or, you may find that you need to implement minimum weight requirements. Are reweighs and subsequent surcharges impacting your customer experience?
- Shipper and receiver names and addresses - Review geographic trends with your routes. Is it possible to improve your loads further by combining cargo headed in the same geographic direction?
Whether your core focus for 2021 includes cutting overhead, reducing turnover, digitizing operations, expanding into new markets, diversifying service offerings, or something else, the information you need to make decisions to achieve your goals is already there.
About DDC FPO
 DDC FPO is a strategic business process outsourcing (BPO) partner for the transportation and logistics industries that enables clients to focus on core competencies and achieve their goals. As the freight-focused member of The DDC Group - a worldwide network of BPO companies - DDC FPO serves clients in over 30 languages across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. DDC's premium front and back office programs include Freight Billing, Customs Brokerage Processing, and IT Outsourcing, and more. To learn more, visit ddcfpo.com.
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Staff Spotlight
Bob Murphy
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Bob Murphy is a business development manager for Carrier Logistics, a position he's held for almost ten years. His career began with NCR Corporation as a sales and marketing representative. After eight years with NCR, Bob transitioned from hardware sales to starting his own business focusing on software solutions for LTL carriers.
As a lifelong resident of Wisconsin, Bob cheers on the Green Bay Packers and Marquette University basketball. In his spare time, he enjoys golf and biking.
2020 was an eventful year for the Murphy family, celebrating the marriages of their three children. And there's more excitement ahead as the Murphys await the arrival of their first granddaughter in May.
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Tip of the Month: Customizing My Menu
Follow these simple steps to easily customize My Menu on your FACTS homescreen. My Menu is tied to the login user only, allowing you to quickly access the functions you use on a regular basis. As a result, you'll spend less time navigating the system because you can find your most frequently used features all in one place.
TO ADD OPTIONS TO MY MENU:
Click on My Menu to open the folder.
Under the current menu structure, click on the menu (or the [+] sign) that contains the option you wish to add to My Menu. Continue to drill down through the sub-menus until you locate your desired option. Click on the option to highlight it and position a green arrow next to it.
Right-click on the option and select Copy, then under My Menu, right-click and select Paste. This copies the option from the Current Menu to My Menu, automatically locating it beneath My Menu.
Repeat as necessary, copying each desired option to My Menu.
When you are finished, you can change the order of the options in My Menu -- Simply right-click on the option and select Move Up or Move Down from the pop-up menu.
Alternatively, you can left-click on the option and use the Ctrl key + the up or down arrow keys to manipulate the menu item placement.
For information on how to create customized menus for departments, see FACTS Help documentation under Menu Maintenance [menu.maint].
Any questions? Contact the CLI support team.
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